This is War
by Impulse5
Summary: Time is running out as Eli Zoom is finally ready for Jessie Quick. Can Mutant X stop him before he takes Jessie? Find out, Chapter 6 is now up!
1. Ch 1

A/N: There have been much speculation over what happens after the Assault. In my version, because I think it's a little more easier this way, I decided to make this an AU-sort of. Though the Dominion is still after the MX-ers, they kidnaped Adam, but Adam didn't blow up the Double Helix and Sanctuary is still intact. The Dominion hasn't been able to infiltrate Sanctuary (illogical as it is) and now Mutant X are recovering the shock of the Creator and preparing 'the war' on the Dominion. Keeping up with me so far? Well, this is the start. Oh, and if you didn't know, Season One was originally set in year 2007 so in S3 it's 2009.

* * *

"You know disorders start out like this?"

Lexa was sitting in the round stools, her head carelessly lying in her palms as she watched Jesse spend another restless night watching the security cameras in the hangar. "Massive paranoia? Ring any bells?"

Jesse's blue, annoyed eyes flicked from the computer screen to focus on her. "Homicides start out like this," he remarked with a curve of a sleepy smile.

Lexa sat up. "Point taken," she got out of the chair and walked around. "Ouch," she mused sarcastically. She stood next to him and put her elbow on his shoulder and rested. "You know they can't get in here. Adam --"

"Adam could be working with the Dominion right now trying to get in here," Jesse snapped.

"Brennan's changed the security codes three times, Jess," Lexa reminded. "Go to bed. I'll watch, OK?"

Jesse sighed and Lexa took a step back for him to get off the chair. "Fine, but only for a little while."

"And I'll wait restlessly for your return," she joked, Jesse rolled his eyes and took a few steps toward his bed room. "Hey, Jess." He turned around. "You weren't serious about that homicide thing, were you?"

Jesse grinned and put a finger to his lips. "Shhh." Lexa rolled her eyes and she listened to his footsteps fade away. It was 3AM and she was only awake because Lexa was pained with hunger early in the morning and this time she couldn't stand it, and when she got up, she found Jesse. Lexa didn't know why he was so obsessed with watching over Sanctuary's systems and why he was so angry toward the idea that Adam could still be on their side. In the year that Lexa knew Jesse, he had never turned his back on Adam or any of his teammates for that matter but maybe Adam's secret was too much to ignore. Lexa didn't know how to feel about Adam's true identity: a clone of their greatest enemy. There was just so much to think about, was Adam's nature the same as the Creator since they have identical DNA? Was Adam just carrying out the Creator's orders to create Mutant X only to have it be controlled by the original Creator in the end? There were just too many what-ifs and guesses about the whole turn-of-events that Lexa didn't know how to start and what to think and it was making her angry. Black and white, no different shades of grey, that was the way of it since she could remember. Either the Dominion was good or bad, either the Creator was good or bad, either Adam was good or bad.

Why did everything have to be so confusing all the time? Lexa asked herself these questions all the time, and she was beginning to think that she wasn't the only one haunted by these questions. Jesse was different, watching the monitors all the time, waiting for the answers to pop right out at him. Jesse knew someone was coming for Mutant X: Was it the Dominion by themselves? Or Adam leading the operatives? Neither of them knew what to do about this. How can you change everything you've ever believed in one single night?

"I think you've been hanging out with Jesse too long, Lex," a voice interrupted Lexa's thoughts. It was only until Lexa woke up that she realized she was staring at the monitor, emulating Jesse.

"Shal," Lexa replied. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

The blonde feral was dressed to kill in her patched and fringed, brown leather jacket and tight jeans, Lexa realized. "Grow up, Lex. I haven't been to bed yet," she grinned.

"Another night with Brennan?" Lexa wondered even though inevitably Shalimar was. They have been spending all their free time together when they weren't changing the security codes and patrolling the mountain for intruders.

"Yeah. Just to a late movie. You and Jess should come with us sometime," Shalimar suggested.

"Ha," Lexa scoffed. "I just got him to go to sleep, he'll never go out ..." Lexa turned the stool to face Shalimar. "I'm worried about him, Shal. He hardly eats, sleeps, or talks."

"Does he ever?" Shalimar joked which surprised Lexa, she was always the one to go to if Jesse had a problem. "I'm sorry, he's fine. It's not easy for Jesse to admit there's a bigger picture then what he's been led to believe. You know, when Emma told us that Adam's been keeping secrets from us two years ago, Jesse didn't turn his back on Adam, but he never really trusted him again .. and when Emma died, a part of him died too. Emma and Jess were really close. He's been through a lot and when he thought everything was going well, something like this happens."

Lexa nodded and smiled. "Thanks, Shal."

"Yeah, no problem. Go to bed. Jesse can live a few hours without nobody at the post," Shalimar remarked.

Lexa got up. "Let's keep our fingers crossed."

* * *

Brennan yawned sleepily and splashed some water on his face in his bathroom. He lifted his head to look in the mirror, he looked around in the reflection and saw a young girl stifling though his poetry books in his room through the open door. Brennan whirled around but saw nothing, rubbing his eyes, he shook his head. "It's always me to see a girl in my room when I'm tired," he mused.

* * *

Shalimar tossed her jacket on her round chair and zipped off her boots. A scent hit her and she snapped up straight and looked around, her eyes flashed feral yellow and her vision switched to her more effective infrared vision. Through the walls she felt a presence in the hallway, it didn't smell like Brennan or Lexa or Jesse. Shalimar fled out of the door and looked around, but saw nothing. In her bare feet, she walked cautiously down the hall.

"I know you're in here, I can sense you," she whispered. Shalimar felt the presence behind her and she whirled around, but nothing.

* * *

Lexa poured her a glass of water from a pitcher and put it to her lips at the kitchen sink. A swirl of wind blew her hair into her face and she turned around. Nothing. "What?" she echoed. Lexa walked out of the kitchen and walked straight into Shalimar. Shalimar caught Lexa by the arms and was looking around, hardly noticing the clash.

"Lex, there's someone in here," Shalimar said looking around in her infrared vision.

"I know, I felt someone," Lexa said, doing her share of looking around.

"Come on, let's check the cameras." Shalimar and Lexa walked to the hangar, carefully. When they reached the computers, Lexa clicked open the security footage.

* * *

He slept soundly in his bed, his labored breathing, eyes closed, dreaming about puppy dogs or his fantasy-babe, Jessica didn't care. "They can't have crib like this playin' it straight," she repeated to herself. "They have to have something." Opening the drawers and searching through pairs of underwear and socks, to no avail. "Come on, give a girl a break. It wasn't easy getting in here," she thought a loud. A little too loud.

The door whirled open and Brennan charged in, a Tesla coil in his palm. Jessica looked at him with her eyebrows raised. "Good going, Sherlock, you caught me," she shrugged. "Now if you'll excuse me."

"Move and you're fried," Brennan warned. The girl was a teenager, denim jacket and jeans, with a black Jansport backpack.

"Awe," she remarked sarcastically. "And I thought you were the good guys. Now, shh, the man's sleeping." Jessica motioned to Jesse, still slumbering.

Lexa and Shalimar hurried next to Brennan on both sides. "Who are you?" Brennan asked.

"Jessie ... Jessie Quick." As soon as the words left her mouth, she disappeared.

* * *

"I can't believe you didn't wake me up!" Jesse shouted. "The one time I sleep, someone gets in."

Shalimar sighed. "Jess, I doubt that girl was a Dominion operative. Just a speed freak looking for some loose change, that's all. But since we've been cut off, I bet she didn't find anything useful."

"What is she?"

Jesse tapped on the computer. "A propulsion molecular – but I've never met any New Mutant this fast. Something must've happened after her initial mutation, or something."

"I don't care who or what she is, but how'd she get in," Lexa snapped. "The security cameras have never been tripped before."

"I don't know, Lexa, but since she didn't find anything, I'm sure she won't be back again," Brennan responded.

"We have to find her," Jesse resolved. "If she could trip the wires, she could be an asset to the Dominion if they got a hold of her, guys."

"Especially if they are offering money," Shalimar agreed.

"OK. Jesse, check the computers for any name of Jessica Quick, OK?" Lexa instructed.

"On it," Jesse turned back to the screen and clicked open the database.

"Shal, Bren, can you check the doors and the perimeter? See if there's anything we missed?"

"No problem," Shalimar said and they were off.

A few minutes later, Jesse came up with something. "Jessica Quick. Born December 31st, 1992. Only seventeen-years-old. Orphaned at the age of thirteen, I guess she's been living on the streets since then."

"Where money is rare and information and goods are valuable," Lexa remarked. "Anything about where she hangs out?"

"Lexa, the girl's top speed is 175 miles-per-hour, she can live anywhere she wants to anywhere around the world. She could be in Canada right now."

"Or I could be right behind you," Jessie mused from behind them. Jesse turned around while Lexa rolled her eyes. Jessie had changed to red sweat pants and a red tank top. Pajamas. "Now, we kind of got on the wrong foot, and I need a place to stay. If you would be so kind as to point me in the direction of a sofa?" Jessie asked elegantly, looking around, avoiding Jesse's prying eyes.

Lexa turned around and looked at her as if the girl was crazy. "Sure. If you answer some questions."

"Shoot. Wait, don't, I know what kind of surprises come at the tips of those fingers, L.P." Jessie remarked.

Lexa raised an eyebrow. "You know me?"

"Of course I do. You're famous for taking down the crack-pot scientists that created us, yeah? Mutant X? While I was sneaking around here, I took a peak at those computers," Jessie turned to Jesse. "You know downloading songs are illegal, right?"

"How'd you get in here?" Jesse interrogated.

"I've known about Stormking Mountain for ages, a good place to stretch my legs, right? Well, a few nights ago I saw Car-Jack around the base and tracked him to the level opening, spotted the code, and tonight decided to take a look. Nobody could hollow out a mountain like nothing unless there was some serious money behind it."

"Car .. Jack?" Lexa echoed.

"You know, Sparky? I spotted him in the slums a few years back boostin' a Ferrari. Well, I just sped through, looking for anything."

"Would you have told anyone about us?" Jesse asked. "If they were asking?"

"Who's they?" Jessie inquired.

"Anyone. I'm sure some people would be interested in things like a group of mutants holding up in cave," Lexa lied. "Media? Government?"

"Nah ... as if I like those kinds of people anyway," Jessie answered. "So about that couch? I know you hardly want a speed freak slash thief in the homeland but good people like you wouldn't turn a helpless teenager in need of a good night's rest and food in the stomach, would you?" she asked quickly.

"You're good at conning people into a night on the couch and a meal, aren't you?"

"Pretty much. I've been doing it since I was thirteen, remember?" Jessie remarked. "So? Am I in or out?"

Jesse looked at Lexa with a raised eyebrow and he shook his head. "Sorry, but we're not in for another roommate," Lexa answered.

"Alright, fine with me. I can get into a Hotel 6 faster," Jessie replied, she disappeared and Jesse sighed.

"Thanks," he answered. "I don't want that girl sleeping here."

"She wasn't dangerous, Jess. I think you're paranoid," Lexa remarked.

"Not paranoid, cautious. We don't need anymore people in the mix, Lex," Jesse explained. "We need to focus on the Dominion, only the four of us."

"I agree, but Jessica wasn't going to stay for long," Lexa reminded.

"We both know the type, she wants a more permanent place to crash," Jesse responded. "I'm going to bed."

"Night," Lexa answered. Jesse walked away and Lexa put her comm link ring to her lips. "Shal, abandon the search, we got answers."

"OK, we're heading back," Shalimar answered over the communication.

Lexa yawned and headed to her bedroom.

End of Chapter One.


	2. Ch 2

The next morning, Jesse rose early like always and found himself on the computers again. A restless routine. This time, however, Shalimar was there waiting for him.

"What are you doing?" she inquired as though he had never been on these computers before, but she didn't give him any time to answer. "You're coming with Lex, Bren, and me today."

Jesse rolled his eyes and sat on the computer stool. "Did Lexa put you up to this?"

"Actually, Lexa was going to leave you wasting away in front of this computer —'"

"I knew I liked her better."

_I'm certainly glad no sleep or food hasn't ruined your sense of humour_, Shalimar thought sarcastically. Shalimar hit his arm in a playful manner that hardly showed up anymore. "Anyway, I couldn't let her do that so get ready while I go tear Brennan and Lexa out of bed."

Jesse groaned but there was no way out of it. Usually, Shalimar was caught up in her own thing that she never really paid much attention to Jesse or Lexa, but some times, she'd change into D_en-Mother of the Year_. Jesse walked to his bedroom, dragging his feet.

* * *

"Good morning, Sunshine," Shalimar mused as she looked in Lexa's full length mirror in her bedroom, playing with her wavy, golden locks.

Lexa still laid in her bed, on her side, but she was awake. "Oh, great, you've been replaced by June Cleaver."

"But you have to get up anyway," Shalimar joked. "We have a couple of gorgeous men waiting for us."

"If they aren't Brad Pitt or Antonio Banderas, I'm staying here," Lexa groaned.

Shalimar's hand dropped to her sides and she sat on Lexa's bed. "Hmm, will Jesse Kilmartin do? I know he's not much to look at but . . ."

"How'd you get him to come along?" Lexa inquired.

"Just told him that you were coming and he said 'Well, I know she's not much to look at ...'"

Lexa lifted her head and swung her pillow at Shalimar.

"Ouch! Boy, you're both just as grouchy as ever. I think you two were made for each other," Shalimar snapped with a teasing glint in her brandy brown eyes. She took a couple steps toward the door. "Now, I'm going to be back in five minutes, if you're not up, I'm getting Brennan to throw a few sparks at you."

* * *

"Why did you do this to me?" Jesse pleaded to Lexa.

Jesse, Lexa, Brennan, and Shalimar paced the big city streets to a snazzy pub that Shalimar and Brennan populated often.

"As much as I'd like to take credit for getting you out of that cave .. I had no idea until this morning," Lexa replied.

Brennan and Shalimar were a couple yards ahead of them, laughing and chatting happily about something that Jesse and Lexa didn't hear about.

"Well, I would have stayed inside if Shal had told me we were walking to the end of the earth," Jesse replied.

"What is up with them lately, huh?" Lexa inquired, nodding toward Shalimar and Brennan.

Jesse thought about it with creased eyebrows. "I don't really know. When you were at the Dominion headquarters, something happened between them but they won't tell me what."

Lexa's jaw dropped. "You're telling me while I was being held hostage . . ."

"Hey!" Jesse interrupted. "I was with you half the time, you know, who knows what they did while I was with you."

Lexa dropped the subject, Jesse was a little snappy talking about what happened with the Dominion.

* * *

Shalimar and Lexa sat at a round table while the men got their beverages. The pub was crowded even for early morning, men and women in suits populated the bar and the other tables, Lexa felt out of place.

"Don't worry," Shalimar said, seeing Lexa's wandering eyes. "The fun starts later."

Lexa blinked and turned her attention back to Shalimar. "No, I was just observing," Lexa replied, worried that Shalimar thought she was bored.

The actual bar was furnished wood with a plexiglass top, lights were placed under the plexiglass that illuminated anything above the top of the bar. Racks of alcohol was behind the couple of bartenders, some of the liquid Lexa didn't even recognize.

"This is the first place Brennan met Emma, you know," Shalimar sparked a conversation. "They ran into each other there." Shalimar pointed at a hallway from the door, a large mirror was placed on the left side from where they were sitting. "He's been going to this place ever since Emma died."

"I know you three miss her," Lexa replied warmly.

"Emma was our best friend," she explained.

Lexa didn't want to talk about Emma anymore, she didn't like the faraway look in Shalimar's eye, that she regularly saw in Jesse's eye, when someone mentioned Emma. Lexa didn't like the sudden change of atmosphere every time someone spoke about their friend, however, Lexa found herself always thinking about Leo and was almost sure she looked the same way when she was thinking about _him_. Their conversation ended when Jesse and Brennan came back with their drinks. Jesse placed Lexa's drink in front of her and slid into his chair.

"Not drinking today, Jess?" Brennan asked.

"It's noon," he replied with a raise of his eyebrows.

"_And_?" Lexa asked, taking a sip of her drink.

Brennan and Shalimar slid closer to each other and laughed at a private joke Lexa and Jesse didn't know. Jesse looked at Lexa and read each other's mind almost. "Excuse us," Lexa remarked but Shalimar nor Brennan seemed to hear them. Lexa took her drink and followed Jesse to the bar and they slid into some stools.

"You feel like the third and fourth wheel?" Lexa asked, taking a quick glance to Brennan and Shalimar as they talked.

"Oh, yeah," Jesse responded.

"Oh, God, and we're spending all day with those two," Lexa said with a sigh, Jesse returned with an even longer sigh. "Want to drink now?"

"Oh, yeah," Jesse answered quickly, Lexa laughed.

Lexa and Jesse still sat at the bar a hour later, having their own fun, while Brennan nor Shalimar moved. "What do you think we're going to do next?" Jesse asked.

"What? We're leaving this place?" Lexa asked sarcastically. "I don't know, I have no idea what they do on their days off." Lexa paused. "How long _have_ they been taking their days off together?" Lexa inquired.

"For about two or three years, I think, like I said, they've always been like that. Except now, it's multiplied," Jesse illustrated.

Lexa rolled her eyes and caught something in her vision. "Jess, I think that woman in blue is checking you out," she whispered.

"Oh?" Jesse turned around and saw an attractive young woman smiling at him. Jesse turned back around and took a drink, completely ignoring the woman in blue.

"What did you do that for? She could have been the woman of your dreams," Lexa replied, before taking a sip of her wine.

"I have another one?" Jesse asked with a wolfish grin.

Lexa blushed and put her glass down. "OK, I think you've had a few too many," Lexa said as she pushed Jesse's glass away from him.

"Yeah, right," Jesse said. He pulled her hand away from his glass, laid his and her hand on his knee, and took his glass back. Jesse took a drink but still didn't let go of her hand, Lexa raised her eyebrow but he didn't notice. "I'm glad Shalimar tore me off the computer this morning," Jesse started, putting his glass down and changing his grip on Lexa's hand so her fingers were resting in his palm. "This has been fun."

"Yeah," Lexa answered, her stomach getting flighty. "It has been fun."

Before she thought anymore about it, Lexa pulled his hand closer to her and the rest of Jesse followed. Their faces close, Jesse's blue eyes twinkled in the plexiglass' light. Before they could get any farther, Brennan and Shalimar walked up.

"Excuse us," Shalimar teased. "Are you ready to go now?"

Blushing, Jesse got off the barstool with Lexa close behind, the four walked out of the pub to the street above.

* * *

Jessie Quick peddled hard on her _Haro_ BMX bike, she was borderline into her mutant abilities, but she knew how hard to push herself to go as fast as humanly possible. Traffic was blocked up by a red light but she sped in between them, swerving, avoiding bumpers, pedestrians, and other bicyclists. Subway entrance. Jessie turned sharply in front of a blue BMW toward a flight of stairs, lifting her rear end from the seat, the bike nearly glided down the stairs into the crowded subway station.

Swerving even closer around people, Jessie navigated through the subway station down the cement platforms, until she hit the F train. A metal door slid open, Jessie steered in front of a couple into the train and then out of the closing door across the train's corridor, onto another platform.

* * *

"Hey, guys, there's a three o' clock movie showing at the theaters down a few blocks, wanna go?" Brennan asked as he read from the newspaper.

Shalimar walked next to him while, again, Jesse and Lexa were about five feet behind them. "Sure, why not?" Lexa asked and Jesse shrugged. "What movie?"

"Hmm, there's supposed to be a good flick called Friday Night Lights?" Brennan suggested.

"Ugh, football movie," Shalimar shot down.

"Whatever you guys pick," Jesse responded.

* * *

"Hey, watch it!" a man called from the window of a taxi cab.

Jessie, who was disguised by a helmet and sunglasses, shrugged and faced the road in front of her. Jessie gripped the handlebars with her gloved fingers and hopped on the sidewalk. Peddling faster and faster, speeding past people and some cars, almost exposing her abilities.

"Whoa!" a woman screeched as Jessie almost trampled her.

"Sorry!" Jessie called back but she was already a hundred feet away, and doubted the woman heard her.

Highway. Jessie sped past cars onto the highway's sidewalk and followed the passing cars onto a bridge. A river lay under the bridge and Jessie gazed into the blue water as she peddled faster. The bridge ended and Jessie rode all the way back to a city street.

* * *

Brennan slid a twenty dollar bill and fished for another ten in his wallet. Jesse, Lexa, and Shalimar talked a yard away from the ticket booth. A bicyclist on a black sports' bike, wearing red and black clothes and a black helmet and dark sunglasses, hopped on the sidewalk in front of the theater and then swung its leg over the back tired and walked the bike to a stop.

Lexa, Jesse, and Shalimar watched the rider with curiosity as the rider locked the bike up to rack, not noticing its spectators. Then the rider took off its helmet. Long blonde hair toppled from the helmet to rest on the rider's leather shoulders. Jessie Quick.

Jesse scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Of course."

Jessie locked her helmet up next to her bike and turned to see them. "Oh," she said, surprised. "It's you." Jessie didn't say another word as Brennan saw her too. She walked right passed them to the ticket booth while the four just sighed and rolled their eyes at seeing her again.

"Did you track us here?"

"Oh yeah," Jessie replied sarcastically. "Just so I could give you the cold shoulder, 'cause I know how much it hurts not seeing me again."

Jessie walked into the theater while Mutant X just waited.

"Do you think she followed us, Jess?" Lexa asked him.

"Why?" Brennan answered instead, not wanting to fuel Jesse's paranoia. "Come on, let's see the movie."

Shalimar put her hand on Jesse's shoulder. "It's fine. This isn't a very secluded movie theater, you know?"

Jesse nodded and the corner of Lexa's mouth tilted into a smile. "No one's trying to get us. If anything, I'm going to tackle her."

Jesse smiled and they walked inside.

* * *

Jessie took the tub of popcorn and walked down the aisles, counting the center rows from the bottom up, and then from the top down. Finding the exact middle row and then she counted the very center seat to find a man already sitting in it.

"Excuse me, think you could move down one ... or two?" It was already dark, Jessie was already missing the trailers but she couldn't enjoy the film without her special seat.

The man was young, not much older then her, he had dark hair and a suit on. Handsome. "What?"

"I need that seat," Jessie snapped, the movie starting.

The man held up his hands in surrender. "Fine." He lifted himself into the seat next to it and motioned for her to sit.

Jessie eyed him suspiciously before taking a seat in her seat. "Thank you."

* * *

Shalimar and Lexa held the drinks and Brennan held the popcorn while Jesse's job was picking the seats. They walked into the theater and Jesse stopped dead in his tracks.

"What is it, Jess?" Brennan asked, avoiding running into the man.

Jesse pointed at the back of Jessie's head.

"You're kidding me, how can you see in here?" Lexa asked, blinking several times to adjust her eyes to the darkness.

Shalimar sighed and Brennan looked where Jesse was pointing. "Dammit, it's Quick."

Lexa shifted her weight on one foot. "Well, I came all this way, and I'm not leaving until I see this movie, OK?"

Shalimar grinned. "Whatever you say, Boss." The only reason she called Lexa that, was when she agreed to her decision.

Brennan nudged Jesse in the shoulder with the popcorn bucket. "Go on, Jess."

* * *

Jessie heard voices and turned around, the light from the outside illuminated the new-comers' silhouettes and no others could look like them. "Oh, crap."

The man, out of curiosity, leaned closer to Jessie. "You know them?"

"Not really," Jessie said, backing away nervously from the stranger.

* * *

Mutant X took four of the side-seats away from Jessie Quick. Jesse breathed a laugh quietly. Lexa, who was of course sitting next to him, leaned toward him. "What?"

"See where she's sitting? In the exact center of the theater," Jesse sighed.

"Stop worrying about her," Lexa returned and she handed him a soda.

* * *

After two hours of watching a movie that Brennan wasn't very interested in, the lights came on, and the movie ended. Jessie was climbing over a man sitting next to her, away from Mutant X, toward the door.

"Hey!" Brennan called.

"Brennan, what are you doing?" Jesse asked.

Jessie stopped and turned around, and Brennan walked down her row toward her. The man she was sitting next to stepping in front of him. "Hey, man, leave her alone. She's just seeing a movie."

Brennan's attention escaped Quick for a second and when he looked over the strange man's shoulder, she was gone.

Brennan was annoyed now, he grabbed the stranger by the collar. "Great, she's gone."

Jesse jumped over the row of seats and walked toward them. The stranger grabbed Brennan's wrists and pushed his hands away from him. "Now, you don't want to do that."

Jesse pulled Brennan away from the stranger. "Sorry, man, the girl's just a friend of ours."

"Yeah, I can sense that," The man said sarcastically and with a wary look at Brennan, he walked away.

When the man walked out the theater, Jesse pushed Brennan out into the aisle. "What the hell is wrong with you, Brennan? She didn't _do_ anything, man!"

Brennan's head dropped and he exhaled. "I don't know, Jess."

* * *

"Hey!" The stranger called to Jessie as she unlocked her helmet from the bike rack. Expecting Jesse Kilmartin, she hopped on her bike and then saw who it was.

"Hey," Jessie answered.

"I took care of that guy .." he held out his hand. "Thomas."

Jessie took his hand. "Jessie. Thanks, I'm sure he didn't mean any harm, just someone I met last night."

"He certainly looked harmful to me," Thomas argued.

Jessie smiled. "Well, I guess I'm lucky you came to my rescue then. Sorry about yelling at you for the seat, just a crazy tradition ..."

"You have to sit in the exact center?" Thomas finished. "I like it too."

Jessie smiled and then she saw Mutant X coming toward the glass doors. "Well, I got to go," she motioned to the group.

"Want to come take a walk?" he paused with a glance at Mutant X. "I can protect you."

Jessie considered it and then she locked up her bike in a few seconds and nodded. "Sure." Thomas motioned for her to follow him.

* * *

Brennan spotted Thomas and Jessie walking off from inside. "Hmm."

"Bren, no," Shalimar argued.

"I didn't really invite you," Brennan snapped and Jesse pushed Brennan slightly toward the door.

"Come on, Brennan," Jesse responded, not wanting to provoke Shalimar more.

Brennan and Jesse walked out of the cinema and Shalimar and Lexa looked at each other. "Why is everyone crazy about this kid?" Lexa asked.

* * *

Jessie and Thomas walked down the alley, the sun was beginning to set and the blue sky was streaked with hot pink and gray. Thomas looked both ways down the alley, and made sure they were deep into the alley. Thomas stopped walking and Jessie turned to see what was wrong. Thomas grabbed her by the neck and pushed her into the alley wall. "You think you could run from us, huh, Chambers? We own you."

Jessie's eyes burned with terror. "No!" she screamed.

Brennan and Jesse walked into the alley and saw Thomas holding her. "Hey, let her go!" Jesse yelled.

Thomas didn't regard Jesse in any way, he held up his hand and a large black gun appeared in a puff of black smoke. He pulled Jessie from the wall and pressed the nozzle to the back of her neck and pulled the trigger. "OW!" Jessie screamed and held the back of her neck.

Brennan threw a Tesla coil at Thomas and he was thrown back away from Jessie, and he disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Jesse ran to the girl, who was still clasping the back of her neck. "Let me see." Jesse lifted Jessie's hand from her neck, a black stub was protruding from her neck. "It's a subdermal governor, Brennan."

End of Chapter 2


	3. Ch 3

Jessie was dumbstruck, she had heard of subdermal governors a few years ago when she passed through a couple of mutant safe houses.

"What? Does this mean .. I don't have my powers anymore?" she inquired weakly, it was if the wind had been knocked out of her. Jessie had never been without her powers, even before they actually showed up, she was always faster than the other little kids in preschool and she always felt special. Ever since she could remember, and they were gone.

"Come on, we're attracting a crowd," Jesse motioned to the bystanders who had heard Jessie's scream.

"Just a mugger," Brennan excused and they moved on, it wasn't uncommon.

"I know him," Jessie whispered, as a flash of Thomas's black eyes crossed her mind.

"Who? That guy?" Jesse asked. She nodded.

* * *

"His name is Elijah Zoom, he was like the archenemy of my Great-Uncle Barry."

"And–what? He's just after revenge? Why the subdermal governor and how did he get it?" Lexa inquired. Mutant X and Jessie Quick were flying through the sky, after the run in with Zoom, everyone knew the fun was over.

"Everyone in my family is attached to their powers, he knew it would be the way to hurt me. And he got it from the Dominion, I'm guessing," Jessie answered.

"The Dominion? How do you know about them?" Jesse Kilmartin asked.

"I'm not _just_ a propulsion molecular. There's a long line of speed-freaks in my family. A long time ago, the first of us, Barry Allen, was a scientist and he figured out an equation called the Speed Force. He was so fast, he could jump forward or backward in time, he could manipulate it."

"That's impossible," Lexa interrupted.

Jesse and Brennan were at the controls while Jessie Quick sat in the back, Lexa and Shalimar watching her cautiously.

"Will you just listen and then decide?" Jessie snapped. "He passed the equation down through the ages and generations starting with the Allens. All the way down to the Chambers."

"Chambers?" Shalimar asked.

"That's my real name, Jessie Chambers. Anyway, Barry Allen was called the Flash, and he had certain _fans_ .. One of them was Elijah Zoom, he wanted so bad to join Barry.

"Zoom swore he wanted to help people the way Barry did, but Barry saw something in Zoom that wasn't just the need to help, but he had a problem with revenge. An accident happened and Zoom's wife was killed, and that's when things got bad, he blamed Barry because he thought that if Barry let him have the equation – he could have saved his wife."

"Where does the Dominion come into this?" Jesse asked.

"That's where Zoom got the equation. Barry had shared the equation after a smooth-talking op said the Dominion would use it for good. Zoom pretended to be just like Barry, and pleaded to let him help, the Dominion didn't see that Zoom just wanted a way to get back at my uncle. So Zoom got the equation and he became just as fast as we are.

"Zoom called himself the Reverse-Flash, and Barry and Zoom battled and fought all the time – throughout time, going forward–going back. Barry wouldn't hurt Zoom to badly, he just wanted him to stop. Then Zoom did something really bad, he made Barry's wife miscarry their twins.

"As you can imagine, Barry was mad as hell ... and he was fed up of playing tug o' war with Zoom and he locked him in a time loop so that Zoom could relive the one moment that changed his life forever."

"The moment when his wife died?" Jesse asked.

Jessie nodded. "All generations are told that story to watch out for the day when Zoom gets out."

"Do you have any relatives that Zoom will go after?" Shalimar asked.

"No, not that he will know. I mean, there's my cousin Bart, but he's only a kid and lives with three other Allens. I'm the only one on my own ... We have to stop him, guys, if Zoom gets his hands on me–there's no planning what he's going to do when his revenge is over."

"Listen, we're not a part of your family's archenemy, OK? We have problems of our own," Brennan responded.

"You don't understand, he's seen your faces. To him, you are the ones who kept him from getting me. You're just as much in this as I am," Jessie responded.

"But what about the Dominion, Quick?!" Brennan shouted. "If we fight this Eli Zoom, we're vulnerable to the Dominion."

"And if you don't? Zoom's coming after you anyway, and if you manage to get away, who do you think he's going to call for help?" Jessie shot back.

* * *

Jessie sat in a chair in the lab while Brennan stood behind her. Lexa, Shalimar, and Jesse stood outside.

"I think we should have just left her," Lexa remarked. "Now that we have her, Eli's probably coming right to us."

"It's partly our fault, Brennan should have snapped Zoom's neck," Shalimar said.

"If she's telling the truth," Lexa replied.

"You guys should have seen her look into Zoom's eyes as he held her to that wall," Jesse said after a moment of silence. "Jessie looked so scared," he said wistfully, watching through the glass as Brennan swept Jessie's hair out of the way of the governor.

Brennan shot a small Tesla coil at the black stub on the back of her neck. "Did it work?"

"No," Jessie asked.

Brennan looked down, over the girl's head. "How do you know?"

Jessie looked up. "I know. It's not just fast motion, you know? My whole body bends to support my motion. I have more lubricated joints, the soles of my feet are like rock, I have amazing lower body strength, and my brain is able to comprehend lightning-fast images so I know where I am when I'm running, and I can heal inhumanly fast ... just like you can stand being electrocuted because you handle electricity."

"So when he clipped you with that subdermal governor, all of that went away?" Brennan asked.

"Yeah. What's the use of hard soles, lubricated joints, and all that if I can only run ten miles an hour?"

Brennan nodded. "OK, now why isn't it working?"

"What, does _everything_ get fixed when you throw a little spark at it?"

"Usually does," Brennan shrugged.

"Does this mean I'm stuck without my powers?"

"I guess so," Brennan replied. "Until we find Zoom."

Jessie looked straight forward and took short breaths. "Oh, well I guess it's a good thing I'm sitting down."

Lexa walked inside. "Just take deep breaths, it'll be refreshing to be human-like for a little bit," she regarded.

"You don't understand! I've been dependent on my abilities for four years, even before that, what am I going to do now?"

"Relax," Jesse said as he came inside the lab to the computer. "We'll fix it."

"Oh, God, I hope so."

* * *

It had been an hour since they returned from the cinema. Jessie Quick's entire personality changed ever since Zoom gave her the subdermal governor, Lexa observed. The young, blond youth sat, slumped over on one of the couches. She span the crystal chess board around and around, staring at the sparkling pieces, dead to the world and to Lexa watching her. Though Lexa didn't know Quick at all, she sensed that the girl was a vibrant and bouncing girl. The speed and dialect of which she spoke revealed she was street-smart, moving as fast as the city she lived in, figuratively and literally speaking, Lexa mused. But now, Jessie Quick slowed down just like the rest of us. Lexa knew she and Jessie Quick were different in one major way. As Jesse had pointed out, Lexa was ashamed of her mutation. It brought problems to her life and ended her brother's, how could she be proud of what she could do? Her own abilities were used by the Dominion _for_ the Dominion or to hurt someone.

Lexa's abilities were primarily used to hurt people, not to help, how could she be proud of that? Ever since she found out what she could do, other people had used her to manipulate them. Her parents kept her on a military base, possibly to study her endless mutation; Adam took Lexa in for Mutant X, and if she wasn't a mutant, she wouldn't belong; Mason Eckhart used her abilities for the GSA; and the Dominion used her as well.

Jessie Quick, however, in Lexa's eyes, depended on her abilities for her own survival. Though Jessie decided not to join the regular work force and get a job, if she didn't speed up and steal something, she didn't eat. Her whole personality was built for speed, Lexa guessed, explaining now without her powers, she's slowing down. She didn't feel _human_ without her abilities, she felt _inhuman_. She didn't feel like herself, and that Lexa could understand.

Jessie flicked the chess board with her finger one more time, the lights of Sanctuary reflected off the transparent pieces like droplets of water. Jessie felt slow, as if everything that happened she did wasn't happening fast enough, but everything that was happening around her was speeding up. When she was in super speed, everything was slow. People walked in slow motion, cars were almost parked though they were going 50 miles per hour, and she was going so fast. Now it was the opposite, and Jessie hated it.

"You're going to break it," a man's voice shook her from her thoughts.

Jessie turned around, the blonde man was behind her, his hands on his hips. "Oh, sorry," she leaned back.

"That's OK, I was only kidding. Ever played before?" Jesse motioned to the board.

"No, um, when I was in school, chess wasn't really the game of the year," Jessie shrugged. "But I hear it's for really smart people."

The man walked around the couch and sat across from her. "My name is Jesse. Jesse Kilmartin."

Jessie nodded. "Hi, Jesse." A moment of awkward silence passed before she spoke again. "Listen, I'm sorry for snooping around your bedroom and giving you hard time, okay? I'm a bit rude when I have no food in my stomach, you know."

"No," Jesse shook his head. "I'm sorry for kicking you out. I've been a little paranoid lately, about the Dominion and all."

"No excuse needed, I've heard those guys are pretty top-notch creepy with their scary inventions and all," she smiled. She rubbed the back of her neck, but stopped when she felt the governor.

"Don't worry, we'll get that out of you, I promise."

Jessie nodded. "I just hope you find a way soon. Lemme tell you, I'd feel a whole lot better taking Zoom down with a few tricks up my sleeve."

"Don't worry."

* * *

Lexa heard their conversation from the computers. _Wow, he really cares about her, doesn't he?_ She thought. _I guess it's the homeless puppy thing about her that makes Jesse go weak in the knees and makes Brennan go psychotic_. The thought brought a smile to her lips, she didn't know what made Brennan snap at the movie theaters, she was just glad he was out of here. She didn't want anymore trouble. Shalimar walked from her bedroom and stopped passing by when she spotted Lexa watching Jesse and Quick.

"What?" Lexa snapped, realizing Shalimar's stare. Her cheeks flushed, knowing that Shalimar had seen her staring.

"You're going to burn a hole in his head," she remarked, remembering one of the first things she had said to Lexa a year ago.

"Just trying to get a take on him," the brunette returned with a grin.

"She's a good kid, you know? Just broken," Shalimar explained. "We all felt that way before."

"But a part of us has never been taken away possibly for forever, right?" Lexa asked. "I don't understand how Jesse could feel a paternal instinct over this _girl _while Brennan feels the need to chase after her."

"Actually, I talked to Brennan, and he feels the same way about Quick as Jesse does . . ." Lexa gave her an unbelieving stare. "He's just a little _aggressive_."

"Aggressive? He looked as if he would bite her head off!" she said a little too loudly, she looked straight at Jesse and the girl who were both staring back at her. "Sorry."

"Fine," Shalimar surrendered. "Don't believe me."

* * *

"Hey, Shal!" Jesse called from the computers. Jessie Quick was asleep on the couch, it was late at night. Lexa hung around chatting with Jesse while he fiddled around on the 'net, not sure what to search for.

Lexa was resting her chin in her hands. "I think they went out."

No guesses who _they_ were, Jesse sighed. "So we have the whole cave to ourselves, huh?" he hinted, his cheeks already getting signs of a blush.

Lexa lifted her chin and raised an eyebrow. "I guess, except for Ms. Depressed over there," she pointed at the young girl on the couch.

The base of Jesse's neck was flushed, as always. _He gets red a lot_, Lexa observed, but she found it sweet.

Jesse nodded and looked back at the screen. Lexa fought back a sigh, every time there were little surges of tension between them, nothing happened. Either another person interrupted or Jesse was just not paying attention. A few more moments of silence passed before Lexa let out sigh of frustration. "How long do I have to wait until you kiss me, Jesse?"

The question surprised him but he grinned anyway, like a moth to a flame. Jesse leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. Lexa's hands found the base of Jesse's neck and she kissed him back full on. Jesse put his hand on her waist, slid it around to the small of her back and pushed her closer to him. Jesse broke away and trailed little kisses to Lexa's neck, smoothing her hair away, and Lexa let out a short gasp.

Suddenly there was a hiss of a door sliding open and they jumped apart. It was the hangar, Brennan and Shalimar were back.

"Hey, Jess!" Brennan shouted and he tossed a basketball from the railing. Not wanting to wake Jessie, he rushed forward and caught it with a quick glance at the girl. Brennan saw her sleeping and nodded. "Sorry. Wanna play?"

"Um .." Jesse looked back to Lexa. "No, thanks, Brennan. Lexa wanted me to help her with something."

"OK," Brennan said, not buying the excuse but he shrugged and caught the ball as Jesse lobbed it back at him from the first story. "We're going back out, then."

Brennan hinted and Shalimar followed with a secret grin. They exited and Lexa smiled warmly.

"So, where were we?" Lexa asked sensually.

Jesse stepped forward and moved her dark hair from her neck. "Well, I was about here."

Lexa grinned as he began kissing her. "Jess," she whispered in his ear. "Don't you think we should go somewhere we there isn't the underage around?"

Jesse looked back at Jessie Quick and nodded. "Good idea."

* * *

"I should have known if we left them alone long enough, they'd do something," Shalimar remarked as the Double Helix soared through the sky.

"Yeah, about time, right?" Brennan asked as he heaved the controls from the opening of the cave, gravity always caught the Helix at that moment.

"So, where to?" Shalimar asked.

"Hmm ..."

* * *

Jesse fell on the bed and Lexa straddled his abdomen and pulled at the buttons of his shirt in between kisses. After a few buttons, she just ripped his shirt open to expose his bare chest. Jesse grabbed her by the waist and rolled over on top of her.

* * *

Jessie Quick's blue eyes opened and she sat straight up to face an empty Sanctuary. The polished floors reflected the light and the air conditioner made a soft hum. Swinging her legs to the floor and standing on her feet, she looked around. "Kilmartin?"

* * *

Lexa pulled Jesse's shirt off and tossed it away and rolled back on top of him, Jesse didn't care, it was happening. It wasn't a fantasy, this was real, she was with him now. Not anybody else. Lexa was just as surprised as he was, Jesse wasn't shy or meek at all, not once he knew what she wanted. He was willing to do anything for her.

* * *

Jessie walked barefoot on the marble floor toward the bedrooms, looking around, she didn't like waking up alone and it made her nervous, especially with Zoom out there. Jessie was weak and defenseless without her powers, and the last thing she needed was to be alone unprotected even if Sanctuary was a fortress. "Jesse? Lexa?" They were here when she was awake.

* * *

A penetrating squeal erupted from Sanctuary. The alarm. Lexa sat straight on top of Jesse.

"What's that?" she asked.

"The intruder alarm," Lexa got off and Jesse rolled off the bed and grabbed his shirt. "Jessie." He slid on his shirt and buttoned a couple of buttons crudely before walking out the door with Lexa close behind him.

"Jessie!" the man called.

The blonde girl ran from the other bedroom hallway. "What's happening?" she called over the screaming alarm.

"Someone's in here. Get Jessie out of here," Jesse commanded. Lexa grabbed Jessie by the arm and they fled while Jesse ran up the floating staircase to the control center. He typed on the computer to shut the alarm off.

"Brennan, Shalimar," he thumbed his ring when the alarm finally shut off.

"Yeah, we heard it on the Helix. We're coming back now. Where's Jessie?" Brennan asked.

"With Lexa," Jesse said and he jumped shortly and phased through the floor and landed on the first story. "Lexa?"

"In the ferrari, Jess," Lexa called from the garage.

"Go with Lexa and protect Jessie, man, we'll check out Sanctuary," Shalimar instructed and Jesse took off toward the garage.

Lexa waited anxiously for Jesse in the garage while Jessie was worse than she was. Lexa revved the engine of the ferrari and Jesse ran into the dark garage and hopped in the passenger seat. She opened the garage and sped onto to the highway.

"Guys, we just got here. No one's here," Brennan said through the commlink.

"Nah, that can't be right, Brennan," Jesse argued out of breath. "The alarm's never been tripped before."

Lexa looked the rearview mirror. "We got company," she adjusted the mirror. A dark mustang with tinted windows sped from the garage. "And he's driving my favorite mustang."

"I don't get it," Shalimar replied. "Zoom has speed, why would he take a car?"

"Because that isn't Zoom," Jessie snapped. "That's a protocol backup Dominion op."

"What?" Jesse shouted and looked back at Jessie.

Lexa put two and two together as she switched to third gear. "Ah, you're one of them, aren't you?" Lexa asked looking in the mirror at the young woman.


	4. Ch 4

"What?" Jesse looked from Jessie to Lexa in confusion. "No." Lexa had a hard time maneuvering in between and beside the other cars on the highway and keeping a careful eye on the traitor in the back seat. It was funny, though, Lexa noticed, Jessie looked incredibly sad for a Dominion operative who was in the hands of the enemy.

Jessie Quick looked down. "I'm sorry, Jess, I'm a freelance recon operative," she came clean. A wave of shame washed over her, Jessie wished on her life that Lexa Pierce, or anyone else for that matter, wouldn't have figured it out.

A different kind of emotion was washing over Jesse at that moment as he turned his back on Jessie Quick and faced Lexa. "Stop the car!" Jesse screamed at Lexa over the roar of the wind.

Lexa refused, why had Jessie been so nervous if they were after Mutant X? If Jessie was an operative, why had it taken so long for her to call for backup? Certainly after Jessie was inside, she would have reported, but it taken nearly two hours for them to come. As these questions crossed her mind, she glanced in the rearview mirror to see her favorite mustang speeding up behind them.

"No, Jess, it's not like that, I swear!" the girl argued.

"Lexa, stop the car," Jesse said in a low voice, but loud enough for Lexa to hear.

Lexa wasn't going to give Quick to the Dominion, even if she wasn't on their side, there was a Dominion operative in their backseat, an information source at their fingertips. "No, Jess. I believe her. The Dominion isn't after us this time, they are after Jessie. And we can't let them take her," Lexa explained.

"What?" Jesse asked. "What are you talking about?"

"If Jessie was really working for the Dominion right now, do you think they would've taken so long to get here?" Lexa asked. "No. They are after Jessie," Lexa looked back at Jessie. "Why?"

Jessie sighed. "I was supposed to report the security code, and I didn't. They tracked me here to get me out. But this guy abandoned protocol and left Sanctuary."

"Why didn't you let them in?" Jesse asked.

"Does it matter now? _I didn't_. You can't let them find me, Jesse. Zoom is in league with the Dominion, once the Dominion finds me, Zoom can have his way with me," she desperately pleaded.

"Jess, what's happening?" Brennan asked over comm link.

"Shalimar, change the security codes. We'll lose this guy and come back," Jesse said before turning off his comm link and turning back to face Jessie. "If anything happens ..."

"It won't," Jessie interrupted. "Now lose this guy."

Lexa switched gears and looked to see her favorite black mustang speeding about twenty feet behind them. "No problem. Can you phase all of us?"

"Huh?" Jesse asked.

Lexa put her arm behind Jesse's seat and turned back to face the car behind them. "Phase us, now."

Jesse put a hand on the dashboard and another on the door and exhaled, the car phased and then the people inside. Lexa pulled the emergency brake, and before the Dominion operative could see what was happening, they were behind him.

Lexa put the brake down and sped up behind the enemy car. "Thanks," and she saw him grin. She kept close to the car as they entered a larger highway, joining a fleet of other cars in a four-lane road.

Weaving in between cars focusing on the mustang, Lexa sped up to 90 miles per hour. "Be careful, Lexa," Jesse warned. Lexa almost smiled to herself. _Careful_. Lexa passed a mini van and a SUV, following the mustang. The mustang realized what was going on, he realized that he was now the hunted, and he decided to run.

Jessie didn't know what Lexa or the black mustang was planning, but she sparked on something. "We can't let him get to the Dominion, Lexa, he has the security codes."

"He won't get off the highway," Lexa answered confidently.

"Lexa, pull alongside him, I have an idea," Jesse suggested. "My side."

Lexa nodded and passed a red SUV and closed in on the mustang. Lexa did as Jesse asked and pulled alongside. "Closer," Jesse said.

"I'm getting there," Lexa replied and swerved the car extremely close. "Be careful, Jesse."

He nodded and prepared to jump. Jesse took off his seat belt and brought his feet up on the seat and crouched down. Jesse stepped on the door, held onto the windshield and top of the mustang. The other cars saw this and started honking, and Jesse hoped the Dominion operative hadn't noticed what was happening. He exhaled and jumped into the car. Jesse disappeared in the mustang and Lexa took that he made it and she turned away from the mustang and slowed down to get behind him.

Jesse landed in the backseat and the driver was a man with a Dominion mask on his face. He turned and swerved in surprise. Jesse materialized and ducked down and jumped into the passenger seat.

"What the hell?" The operative screamed as he lunged for his gun. Jesse massed his fist and knocked him out and grabbed the steering wheel before he lost control.

"Jess?" Lexa asked over comm link.

"He's down," Jesse said. "I'm pulling over, Lexa, pull up behind me."

"Got it."

"And Lexa?" Jesse asked as he put the turn signal on. "Your mustang is okay," Jesse added.

Lexa laughed and they made is smoothly on the side of the road. "Stay here," she commanded Jessie. She hopped out of the car on the passenger side away from traffic and ran to the black mustang.

Jesse opened the passenger door and got onto the side road. Lexa ran up to him. "Not a scratch," he promised.

"What do we do with him?" Lexa asked motioning to the unconscious operative.

"He's knocked out cold. Interrogation?" Jesse suggested.

"I'll take him, you take Quick."

* * *

Brennan tightened the restraints on the operative's wrists. "How'd this guy find us, Jess?" he inquired as he fastened his legs to a chair.

Quick looked at Jesse with pleading eyes. "Um, I guess he just followed us from the movie theaters?" Jesse suggested.

"Hmm," Brennan nodded. Shalimar knew he was lying but he trusted Jesse had good reasons.

"I'll watch our little friend here until he wakes up," Jessie volunteered.

"No," Jesse said a little too quickly, he didn't want the recon operative talking to another. "You won't. It's too dangerous," he covered up.

"We'll do it, Jess," Shalimar replied. "You try to dig up what you can on Zoom."

Jesse nodded and walked to the computers with Lexa behind him. He slid into the white stool and clicked open the database. Lexa walked around to the other computer.

"We haven't found anything yet, Jess," Lexa reminded.

"Glass half-full, Lexa," Jesse remarked. "Maybe our little friend can tell us something about him."

"It's not like Dominion ops to abandon their mission," Lexa explained. "I wonder why he did."

"Maybe he thought he had a shot at getting Jessie," Jesse shrugged. "Who knows? The main thing is we have him."

"Yeah," Lexa gave up digging for answers.

"What I don't get is that at the theaters, Zoom was waiting for Jessie. That means that he knew she was around the city for a long time than we thought," Jesse explained. "Why didn't he just get her when he found out where she was?"

"That's a good question," Lexa replied, then she lowered her voice. "Another good question: If Eli Zoom is with the Dominion why is Jessie with the Dominion?"

"Because I didn't find out he _was_ with the Dominion until after I was recruited," Jessie answered as she walked to them.

"Can you tell us the _whole_ story, please?" Lexa asked, even though it wasn't a question but a demand.

Jessie nodded. "A year ago, someone in the Dominion figured out that I was Jessie Chambers, descendant of Barry Allen, right? Well, he recruited me into the Dominion, thinking my speed could be a great asset to the Dominion. He told me stories about what good they were doing: protecting the world from dangerous jumps in scientific evolution . . . but because I was so young, he told me I could be a _freelance_ agent. Only get missions when it was OK for me, and I could leave whenever I wanted."

Lexa scoffed. "Yeah, right."

"Yeah, I know. It sounded like a sweet deal, it paid well and I got to travel the world, right? When I got this new mission a week ago, I had to stake out Stormking Mountain and wait for one of you to access the ground entrance.

"I did see Brennan, like I told you, and I was supposed to report immediately. But I didn't."

"Why?" Jesse asked.

"I heard stories of Mutant X, protecting those like me," Jessie began with a wistful expression. "And I couldn't understand _why_ the good guys would want to hurt the other good guys. But we're trained not to ask questions so I agreed, but when it came to calling them, I couldn't do it."

Lexa's eyebrows furrowed for a second before her face softened. "Thank you."

Jessie smiled a little. "You have to believe me that I'm on your side, my life depends on it."

"We know," Jesse replied. "We'll take care of it."

Jessie walked back to the couch and sat down. Jesse sighed and looked to Lexa. After a few more moments of silence passed between Jesse and Lexa, she spoke. "Jess, about last night ..." she trailed off, not knowing what to say.

"That was a little _more_ than a kiss," Jesse stated, having a flashback to a few weeks ago when they reasoned the soft kiss they shared after the trouble with Cirque De Merveilles.

Lexa smiled. "Maybe just a little more."

"Maybe we could get some dinner later tonight .. you know, if we're not saving the world or anything?" Jesse asked, clearly nervous. The last time he had gotten the courage to ask Lexa out on a date, it didn't turn out so well.

"That's a pick-up line I've never heard before," Lexa mused. "I don't know ..." she began. "Maybe we could skip to the part where you walk me to my door?"

If Jesse ever blushed before, he was as red as a beet now and Lexa couldn't help but stifle a laugh. "Lexa, I was hoping we could take it a little slow."

Lexa had hoped he wouldn't say that. "I can't, Jesse." A look of confusion protruded from his deep blue eyes. "Can I see you for a minute, maybe in the lab?"

* * *

"Your expiry date ..." Jesse began when they walked in the lab. "It's coming up, isn't it?"

Lexa clicked open her medical files. "My contact sent this to me a week ago ..." she highlighted and opened a dossier. "It's really close."

"So that's why ... last night? One thing before you _die_?" Jesse stumbled for words.

"Of course not. Jess, you know how I care about you ... even before I even _thought_ about this death sentence," Lexa explained. "It's just that I _can't_ take things as slow as I wanted."

"So if you didn't know it was coming up . . ." Jesse tried to reason. Lexa smiled and planted a kiss on his lips before wrapping her arms around him. "I just don't want to lose you."

"And you think I want to leave _you_?" Lexa asked as the tears she was so desperately trying to fight off welled up in her eyes. "But there's nothing we can do. None of us know a lot about genetics. Adam is in the new Dominion H.Q. God knows where."

Jesse pulled away and wiped away a tear from her cheek. "I can try ... Adam said all we had to do is find which mutation stabled the structure ..." Jesse said, even though he didn't know how long that would take, but it was a start. "I'm not going to let you die."

"Yeah .." Lexa said as Jesse gave her another hug. "Glass half full."

* * *

The Dominion operative came to groggily, with a monstrous, throbbing pain in the back of his head. The Molecular, he mused, strong but naive. His vision cleared and he spotted the blonde Feral, Shalimar Fox. Tough but wears her heart on her sleeve, he recited inside his head. Along with the Elemental. Brennan Mulwray. Strong yet impulsive.

"I'm not saying _anything_," he swore. Lexa Pierce walked into his peripheral vision. Traitor. Was there anything else to say? "You know how we are trained ..."

"And you know we're not trained to abandon our mission. And you abandoned Sanctuary," Lexa reminded. "So somewhere that training isn't stickin'."

"A simple mistake," he argued. "I saw a chance to acquire the target and I took it."

"You don't take chances," Lexa snapped. "Rule number one. You follow orders or you're dead. You might consider this a favor, you know you'll be _severely _punished for abandoning your mission."

Lexa sat down on the couch, he rolled his eyes, of course they didn't see him, they had neglected to take off the mask. "I didn't abandon anything, my mission was to acquire Jessica Chambers and I almost did."

"There's that almost," Lexa remarked with a wave of her hand.

"And you failed that way," Shalimar stepped in. "The Dominion will see your failure as the result of you abandoning orders."

"Exactly," Lexa praised. "And I'd reconsider who's on your side, here. They will kill you, especially when they find out you spoke to us."

The operative was silent, Lexa was making an impact. _Bravo_, Jessie thought. _This girl knows how to press buttons_. Lexa got tired of talking to a black mask and she pulled off the mask. The operative was a dark skinned man with a dark, emotionless eyes and a set jaw.

"Now, you ready to talk?" Brennan asked.

"Where is Elijah Zoom?" Jessie demanded. "I know you know."

He paused. "All I know is he knew you were in the city for months but the Dominion wanted him to wait until they gave you, Chambers, your final mission."

"You're with the Dominion?" Brennan asked.

"Traitors," he swore to Chambers and Pierce all the same.

"I'll tell you two later," Jesse promised.

Jessie wasn't surprised that the Dominion was going to sick Zoom on her. "My final mission? Mutant X surveillance?"

"Yes, Zoom offered to take over the mission but they turned him down. He is not as fast as you are. But when they figured you deserted, they gave the OK to Zoom to eliminate you."

"Ah," Jessie replied. "And, you wouldn;t happen to know what he was going to do when he had me, do you? Out of personal interest."

The operative didn't know what she actually meant by _personal interest_ but Lexa nodded for him to tell her.

"Zoom has been working on a time chamber replicating the loop Barry Allen manufactured, my contact told me," the operative replied. "However, the rumor is that he will use a memory-transfer Psionic to pass his memory of his wife's accident on to you."

"Oh," Jessie said, her confidence slowly draining. "Great, as if I wasn't wigged out already."

"Is that all you know?" Lexa asked.

"Yes."

* * *

"Well, Brennan and Shalimar are dropping him off somewhere. I really hope that information is true," Jesse explained.

"Glass half full, at least we know the whole story on the Dominion's side," Lexa replied.

The two sat at the computers while Jessie Quick fell back asleep on the couch. "Do you think my contact is still with the Dominion?" Lexa asked.

"It's the perfect cover for helping us out, Lexa. Maybe he can help us out with your date?"

"I don't know," she admitted. "Maybe we should move Quick to one of the bedrooms. She might be more comfortable."

"Yeah, help me open doors," Jesse said as he walked to the couch.

"Why can't you phase _through_ the doors?" Lexa asked.

"You know how it feels for me to phase ... the feeling might wake her up, and stop being lazy," Jesse replied. Lexa mocked pulling herself out of the chair and dragging her feet to the couch.

Jesse slipped his arms behind Jessie's back and knees and lifted her. "Ready, or is she just too heavy for you?" Lexa took a jab.

"I carried you once, this is a piece of cake compared to _you,_" Jesse teased and Lexa thumped him in the arm.

* * *

They walked to Emma's old bedroom and Lexa opened the door. Lexa had never been in this room before, she was either too busy or wanted to respect the dead. As the door opened a wave of stale incense and candle scents hit their noses. The room was musty and old candles were set up around the bed and dresser, almost eerily. The bed was unmade from when Emma got out of bed on her last day, the last time she _ever_ woke up. A tidal wave of memories hit Jesse and he froze.

"Jesse?" Lexa asked.

"Maybe we should go to my room," he suggested and he nearly walked right into Lexa backing away.

"Where will you sleep?" Lexa asked as they walked out of Jesse's room.

"On the couch, I guess. That is, if I don't get any better offers," he grinned.

"Why won't you go in her room, Jess?" Lexa changed the subject and caught him off guard.

Jesse was silent and he brushed his hair out of his face. "It hurts too much. I loved Emma as much as I do Shalimar."

"Jesse, I don't want you to be like this when I die," Lexa said.

Jesse stopped walking and faced her. "You are not going to die," he said slowly, vowing. "You're not going to give up fighting."

* * *

Brennan and Shalimar soared through the sky in the Double Helix after dropping the operative off in an abandoned safe house. "So Jessie Quick worked with the Dominion."

"Bren, if Jess and Lexa think we can trust her, then I trust their decision," Shalimar replied. "I mean, Lexa worked for the Dominion, and we trust her don't we?"

"Right."

* * *

That night, Lexa tossed and turned trying to get some slep. Finally, she gave up trying and got to her feet. Clad in her gentle green tank top and shorts, she left her bedroom. Lexa's bare feet made little noise on her way to Jesse. Jesse lay sleeping on his back. A blanket came to his bare abdomen and left his chest bare.

"Jesse?" Lexa called him out of his slumber.

Jesse opened his eyes, waking up easily. "Lexa? What are you doing awake?"

"I couldn't sleep," Lexa excused. Jesse sat up and made room and motioned for Lexa to sit down. She sat next to him and he draped his blanket over them.

"Any reason why?" Jesse asked sleepily.

"I was thinking about what you said ..." Lexa began. "Thanks, Jesse. I shouldn't give up fighting."

Jesse smiled, fully awake now. Lexa pulled her hair away from her face and leaned on his shoulder and he wrapped an arm around her.

"Do you really think you can cure me?" Lexa whispered.

He paused and Lexa's stomach jumped. "Follow me." Jesse got up from the couch and Lexa followed him to the laboratory.

* * *

The transparent door hissed open as Jesse walked to the main lab computer file and pulled up a file with a graphic of a spinning double helix.

"What's this?" Lexa asked.

"Do you remember the mutant in the casino that attacked you and Shal almost a year ago?"

"Yeah?"

"His mutation was fixed like mine. I know no mutation is the same but his is similar to ours. I figure _that_ with my records is enough to figure out which mutation cured us. But I need your contact to get the _specific_ med-file on the procedure that fixed _his. _It could help a lot."

"And we're both Moleculars," Lexa reminded.

"Correct, that has to have some good thing behind it. But since you weren't with Adam but a couple years, you don't have that many procedures that mapped out your mutation so I'll have to run a few tests," Jesse explained.

"I'm living on borrowed time," Lexa replied.

"We could start now if you want?" Jesse suggested. "We're both awake. Lay down on that bed."

"Wow, you just get right down to business, don't you?" she asked, not talking about the tests anymore.

"Be serious," Jesse scolded, but hiding a grin.

Lexa slid on the bed and Jesse lowered it to lying position and went to the computer and positioned the scan. "Now lay still."

"There you go bossing me around from behind the computer," Lexa teased. "Sometimes I wonder if you like them more than you like me."

"They do have the ability to do as they're told, now lay still," Jesse remarked.

"Ouch," Lexa answered.

When the scan was finished, Lexa still lay there, and Jesse checked the computer. "How's it looking, Doc?"

"You might want to lay off the lasers, Lexa, your mutating more rapidly than usual. Might cause some reverse polarity of your light waves," Jesse explained.

"English?" Lexa inquired.

"You want your lasers to go one way, they do the opposite," Jesse explained.

"Enough said," she replied, imagining shooting herself. "Wait a second. How can I light a fire under Zoom's ass if I'm stuck on the bench?"

"Oh come on, you can kick ass without your light show," Jesse complimented. "But if it comes to it, you _are _going to be benched if the date gets a little too close." Lexa groaned. "I know how you hate being stuck watching from the sidelines but this is serious. It isn't a remote control with a big, bad man holding it, this is something that only _I_ can fix."

"You don't know me," she remarked.

Jesse walked from the computer to beside the bed. "Promise?"

"Yeah," she sighed. "I guess."

Jesse sat down beside her legs and faced her. "Feel tired now?"

"Just a little," Lexa replied. She moved over to the far side of the bed and patted the space next to her. Jesse lied down and put his arm behind her head.

* * *

The next morning, Lexa still laid in Jesse's arms, sound asleep. Her head rested on his chest and his arm around her waist. Jessie walked in and jumped in surprise to see Jesse and Lexa. She walked out and came back with a blanket and she draped it over the couple. Jessie walked out after getting bored watching them. _It makes me sick how cute they are_, she thought with a faint smile on her lips. Jesse opened his eyes after the shock of warmth that came from the blanket. Then he realized that he had fallen asleep with Lexa in his arms, he smiled and kissed her forehead. Lexa stirred and opened her eyes just as Jesse squeezed her a little.

"Morning, sunshine," Jesse said with a smile.

"Morning," she answered and pulled the blanket over her shoulder. "We fell asleep, didn't we?"

"Yeah."

"And someone brought us this blanket?"

"Yeah," Jesse answered and rubbed her arm before yawning. "Think we should get up?"

"Yeah," Lexa followed suit and sat up, pulling the blanket off of her, and Jesse laid still until Lexa got off the bed and then he rolled off and stood on his feet.

"You're awake," Jessie said as she walked inside. "You guys looked so cute sleeping there all wrapped in each other's arms ..." she teased.

"Did Brennan and Shal come in here?" Lexa interrupted.

"Nope. They left to get some food, God I'm starved," Jessie answered. "Why? Is that a good thing?"

"I don't care," Lexa lied.

Jessie walked over to the computer and pulled up Lexa's medical files. "But I tell you, if they learn Jess has been working to solve _your_ problem and not theirs, they'll be really mad."

"I've thought about that," Jesse said as he got up and walked to the computer and closed the files. "How'd you know?"

"I don't sleep _all the time_," Jessie hinted. "I spotted you in here last night, and I'd imagine this is a big bullet they're trying to dodge. All three of them."

"Lexa's date is coming up soon, it makes sense I'm dealing with one expiry date at a time," Jesse excused.

"Yeah? And it has _nothing_ to do with the way you feel about each other? Brennan and Shalimar will only see it that way."

* * *

End of Ch. 4 


	5. Ch 5

The grass was wet and freshly mowed, a pile of dirt was dug out of grave for the new burial. It was a secluded cemetery, out of the way from the big city. No one was there, no one to pay their respects, except one. Long, blonde locks and piercing blue eyes, the man held a single white rose as the coffin was lowered into the earth by the two cemetery men. His _Boss_ suit blended with the atmosphere, as it was a cemetery. Tears welled up in his eyes as dirt was shoveled onto the gleaming white coffin. _White_. Something that didn't relate to the deceased's life at all, dark and smooth in mystery, that was the woman who now lied in the coffin. Jesse imagined the body inside, lying there peacefully. _Peaceful_. That was wrong, Lexa wasn't peaceful, she was never dead inside or out, she was so full of life. It didn't fit having her lie there silently. The coffin was fully buried now, the shovels padded the fresh dirt so grass could be planted there. The two men walked away, finished with their job. Jesse stayed, he wouldn't leave her when she was alive, how could he leave her now? Opening his palm, Jesse ran his fingers over the platinum ring in his hand and walked around the grave and laid it on top of the headstone.

* * *

Jesse awoke with a start as the flashes of his dream raced through his mind. The smell of the chlorophyll and wet dirt plagued his senses and the sight of _Lexa Pierce_ carved in the headstone was more than he could bear. _No, she's not dead, she's alive_. But the images were too much.

* * *

"Lexa," Jesse whispered. She lay on her side with her hands beneath her cheek. Jesse smoothed away her hair from her face. He sat on the side her bed beside her. 

"We have to stop meeting like this," Lexa whispered with a smile as she stirred from her sleep. "What's going on?" Lexa put a hand on his. A tear welled up in his eye and fell on Lexa's hand. "Jess?"

What could he tell her to make her understand what he was thinking? Jesse pulled his hand away. "Nothing, just a bad dream." Jesse got up and took a step toward the door.

"Jesse," Lexacalled and he stopped.

It was like the air was being sucked from his lungs and a lump was growing his throat. Lexa sat up, worried now. "Come here," she whispered. Jesse walked over and she crossed her legs under her blanket to make room for him on her bed. He sat down and faced her. "What's wrong?"

Jesse looked down at her hand to the ring and the flash of the nightmare came into his mind. "A dream has never been so real," he started.

Lexa could only guess what his nightmare was about, she put her hand on his cheek and made him look at her. "I'm not going anywhere," she assured.

"Can you promise that?" Jesse whispered.

"I thought you were supposed to be optimist," Lexa reminded with a smile. But this was anything but humorous.

"Not with something as big as this," Jesse replied.

Maybe Jesse was right, Lexa always made a joke out of something that was, well, deathly serious. Lexa had never felt this way about a man before Carter, and that was five years ago. And Lexa wasn't even sure she even cared about Carter like she cared about Jesse. Lexa couldn't explain it, it wasn't just physical, even though she was attracted to him, but it was emotional, and psychological, it was everything. Head and heart; body and soul. Could it be love? Lexa didn't know, it had been so long since she had loved someone that way. Lexa didn't know how to handle her feelings anymore. A year ago it was no emotion, it was her and the team. They watched each other's backs even though they didn't care much about each other. But as Lexa looked at Jesse now, she couldn't even remember a time when she didn't care about him even if she only cared a little bit.

"You're right ..." Lexa gave in. "But listen, we have a really good chance at fixing this, Jesse. Don't give up on me now."

"I'm not giving up," Jesse snapped, almost mad that she even thought he would. "It's just that I never realized how serious this was .... until now."

"Me neither," she admitted.

Jesse reached and pushed a lock of her chocolate hair behind her ear. "Thanks for listening." He leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers and Lexa kissed him back and put her hand behind his neck.

Lexa pulled away and bit her lip before smiling. "Good night, Jess."

"Goodnight," Jesse got off the bed in a better mood than what he came in with and walked out the door.

* * *

Brennan dribbled the ball hard, his anger almost bouncing off him. Jesse walked with a look of confusion on his face. "Hey, man, what's wrong?" Brennan threw the ball at Jesse with such force that Jesse, in reflex, massed and the ball came shooting back at Brennan. "What the hell?" 

"I saw the computer logs, Jess. I know you're trying to cure Lexa," Brennan accused.

Jesse looked down. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

"_Tell _us about screwing with Lexa's DNA? No, man, why didn't you tell us you've almost solved the problem?" Brennan shouted.

"Because I'm not sure I have, Brennan," Jesse argued. "There's nothing to tell you on that one."

"Yeah? Then back again to fixing Lexa. Why didn't you tell us man? At least Shalimar."

"Quiet down," Jesse scolded, and he lowered his voice. "We got a dossier, Lexa's expiry date is real soon. I didn't have any time to tell you."

"That's bull. Jesse," Brennan snapped. "You didn't tell us because you wanted to help her _first_ because of the way you feel about her."

"Maybe," Jesse admitted. "But I promise that if I cure Lexa, I'm working on you and Shal's, OK?"

"Fine," Brennan said and he threw the basketball at the floor and walked off.

* * *

"Brennan told me," Shalimar replied. Jesse Kilmartin lifted the rook chess piece and set it down. Shalimar and Jesse were playing a game passing the time. 

"I'm sorry, Shal," Jesse apologized honestly.

"No, I know," Shalimar answered. "I'm not mad ... I know how you feel about Lexa, and I know how she feels about you. Just .. don't keep secrets anymore, okay? It's the last thing we need right now."

"Okay," Jesse smiled. "So why is Brennan so angry about this?"

Shalimar shook her head. "I don't know, I guess there's always going to be a part of Brennan that doesn't like or _trust_ Lexa somewhere inside. I guess he just doesn't want to see you get hurt."

"If he doesn't let me work on Lexa's DNA, I will be hurt ... because she'll be dead," Jesse replied.

"I know, and Brennan knows that too. So he _can't_ really be mad at you," Shalimar answered.

Thanks for understanding, Shal," Jesse said with a smile.

"I don't want her to die either, you know? I might not like her as much as you do, but she's a part of the team," Shalimar explained. "But I hardly think _anyone_ could like Lexa Pierce as much as you do."

Jesse laughed. "Maybe, maybe not."

"As much as I love that you and Lexa figuring out your relationship … because I sense that it's taken a long time," Jessie Quick interrupted. "Zoom is going to find a way to come get me, and I really don't think you want to be asleep with Lexa in your arms when _that_ happens."

Jesse looked up. "Straight to the point as always."

"I don't have the time to beat around the bush with you four, Kilmartin," Jessie snapped. "There's a maniac on the loose that can get in here as easily as I could. And you remember how fast _that_ was. I suggest you take this seriously."

Jessie was right, Mutant X had almost forgotten about Zoom in the past twenty four hours. Jesse understood why she was so impatient. "Okay, okay. Lexa!"

The brunette walked out of the bedroom areas as Jesse jumped off the couch. "Get your contact on, see if he can get any information on Zoom."

Lexa was surprised. "You _do_ realize how dangerous that is, don't you?"

"We don't care, Zoom is a whole lot more dangerous to _us _and to Jessie," Shalimar answered.

Lexa nodded. "Okay."

-------------------------------------------

The operative walked into the Dominion headquarters, his contact waiting for him. The old man was in a wheel chair, but not weak. He was respected by all Dominion officials, even the high council, and was never looked down upon.

"Well? Did you tell them everything you know?"

"Yes," the operative replied. "But I still do not understand why you had ordered me to do so."

"Elijah Zoom is a threat to the Dominion . . . He is mentally unstable and a vengeful operative. We do not need him. So, we are using _our_ enemy to defeat another enemy," the contact explained. "Easy enough to understand," he snapped. "So why hasn't Mutant X attacked Zoom yet?" That was a question the operative had no answer for. "Leave me, I have some thinking to do."

"Yes, sir," he said and exited out the door.

He wheeled to his desk just as Lexa established a communication link. "Lexa," he rasped.

"We need information on Zoom," Lexa explained. "Can you help us?"

"He is no friend of ours," he reasoned. "Eliminate him as soon as possible, Lexa. And get Jessica Chambers to a safe place as you do so, there's no knowing what he'll do if he takes Jessica's life."

"You care about Jessie, as well, hmm?" Lexa hinted. The Contact gathered Lexa liked to tease him about his personal feelings.

"That is no issue to be concerned about," he snapped. "There is information on file, but Zoom keeps more to himself than any other operative I know. The Dominion would rather have Jessica working for us than Elijah Zoom."

"So you haven't even thought about leaving?" Lexa asked.

"We both know there is no escape from the Dominion. Jessica learned it the hard way."

"Why did you send the operative after her if you really want her on your side? Scaring her out of her wits isn't the way to go about that," Lexa answered.

"You hadn't found Zoom yet, it's been two days. I figured if you hadn't found him, it would be better for the Dominion to relocate her."

Lexa scoffed. "Talk about faith."

"This is about the safety of the Dominion on this end, we have no room for faith in others … especially in Mutant X, I'm just following orders."

"Yeah, yeah. So, when are you going to send that information?" Lexa asked.

"I will send it to you when I find something useful."

"Jesse is trying to cure me," Lexa began. "Think you have any useful information on that end?"

"It's a difficult job. I hope Mr. Kilmartin knows what he's doing," he warned.

"I think he has a pretty good idea."

"I'll see if I can do anything about that."

* * *

The connection ended and Lexa sighed. "Just as enthusiastic as ever, isn't he?" Lexa looked up to Jesse learning on the door. 

"You live to sneak up on me, don't you?" Lexa accused.

Jesse laughed. "What? You do it all the time to me."

He walked in, seriously, and stood by her. "Think he can help?" Jesse asked.

"Always has before," Lexa shrugged. "Well, since it's all out in the open about you working on curing me … and _other things_ … what do you say to going into the lab and map out my structure until he comes up with anything."

Jesse nodded. "That would be the responsible thing to do."

Lexa stood up and faced Jesse. "And maybe when we're done …" Lexa dragged a finger against his neck. "We could do something a little more _recreational_."

"Wow, you're all about the subtext, aren't you?" Jessie interrupted from the doorway.

Lexa sighed and took a step away. "Well, if you had waited any longer, we would have put in some role playing."

Jessie held her stomach. "Come on, I just ate."

Jesse rolled his eyes. "OK, we've got a .. _friend_ … on Zoom. You've got nothing to worry about."

"Yeah, right," Jessie Quick said sarcastically. "_Nothing_. Well, you two can go on with your cute little game, I'll be wasting away beating Brennan at chess." Jessie turned around and walked out.

Lexa took her turn rolling her eyes and turned back to Jesse. "Okay, so, we're being responsible now, right?"

"We can't fit in the play time _around_ the work?" Jesse asked.

Lexa paused then smiled. "Maybe just a little bit."

Lexa grabbed his collar and pulled him into a kiss and Jesse held her around her waist. As they kissed each other, they moved to a wall and Jesse pressed Lexa up against it.

In between kisses, Jesse spoke. "Lexa … though Brennan and Shal are …"

Lexa pulled away. "You're thinking about _Shalimar _and _Brennan_ right now?"

"I was just thinking that even though Shal and Brennan aren't mad at me, I think we should keep it quiet on how _close_ we are."

"Oh," Lexa kissed him softly and Jesse kissed her again. "I guess that's a good idea. Think we should go into a room a little more private?"

Jesse let go of her waist and planted a hand on the wall next to her head and phased it and they disappeared behind the wall.

* * *

Lexa snapped back to reality as soon as they got into Jesse's bedroom on his bed. "Jess," she whispered between kisses and then she pulled away. 

Almost reading her mind, Jesse leaned back and nodded. "I know, time for work, right?"

Lexa nodded. "As much I'd like to … we're running out of time."

"Yeah," Jesse agreed and cleared his throat and Lexa rested her head on his chest. "So, I was thinking, we can't just sit around until we get more information but I can't map out your genetic structure, it'll take forever."

"I heard the Dominion just released the information about mapping the genetic structure of a chicken," Lexa scoffed. "I guess humans' are a little trickier."

"Yeah, a little," Jesse shrugged sarcastically. "But we're way ahead of a chicken, but we still don't have enough time to map out yours. However, I'll go through Adam's med files for a clue?" Lexa lifted her head and held it up with her hands and stared at Jesse. "And you haven't heard a single word I've been saying, have you?"

"Not a word."

* * *

Elijah Thomas Zoom was almost ready. After months of preparing the device, ignoring her presence in this very city, and debating with the Dominion about Jessica Chambers Quick, he was ready for her. They had asked for him to spare her -- Jessica was too valuable to their cause. But he couldn't. Dreams, visions, voices convinced him that after Jessie Quick was eliminated everything would be alright. Memories of his wife's death wouldn't plague him, and every Chambers-Allen member would be almost deceased. With every one dispatched, the lighter his heart. He was doing the Dominion a service, Zoom assured, they didn't want a liability on their side. Better to have her gone. The Dominion didn't agree, but after Zoom informed them about Jessie's sub dermal governor, they had reconsidered. After many negotiations in the lavish board room, the Dominion agreed to let Zoom take care of his personal vendetta if he signs on full service for reconnaissance work in the Dominion - to take the place within their system. Though she was "freelance" Jessie was very important to them, Zoom gathered, despicable. What importance could come from a thief? The Dominion doesn't need her, and frankly Zoom was glad they had agreed to have Zoom take her place. Maybe they wouldn't have so many problems with Mutant X. Zoom overheard that Jessie Quick had deserted the Dominion for Mutant X. _Saw that coming_, he mused. Chambers and the Allens always were untrustworthy. Act like they know how you're feeling and cause a big mess. 

What Zoom didn't know was that the Dominion was double-crossing him.

The old man in the wheelchair was nearly ready collecting information on Zoom. Like Jessica Chambers herself, Zoom kept mostly to himself with his work in the Dominion. He was one of the many scientists in the Dominion, dedicated to working on the mystery of time - to figure the way he and other speed force gurus could leap frog through time, so he could manipulate it. It was some goal, but so far, Zoom hadn't come up with much progress in all the reports he had sent in.

It is ironic that the Dominion - like Dante's diagram of hell - appears to be in levels. Agents and protocol operatives, like security guards with heavy weaponry, are at the bottom. Scientists and doctors are next. Recon operatives, who deal strictly with high level enemies, and surveillance, who resided right in the head quarters, were next; Contacts who spoke directly to the recon and surveillance operatives after; and at the top, or the bottom, depending on the view, was the high council. The man found it extremely possible that the scientists and doctors could carry experiments and withhold results rather easily from the Dominion council, which in this case could be extremely dangerous for Jessie Quick.

Now for the harder part; finding enough information on Lexa Pierce's DNA structure to cure her. To save her life. And compared to Zoom and Quick, to him, that was most important.

* * *

Shalimar paced her bedroom, feeling like a caged jaguar. Usually her and Brennan would be outside, enjoying each other's company, out in the city where a girl could have some fun. Fun, Jesse had warned, was over for now. They had had enough fun and now it was time for work. _Yeah, I saw them sneak into Jesse's room. Work, my ass_ she thought with a hint of a smile. She loved Jesse, from the bottom of his heart, and she trusted Lexa - why wouldn't she like that they were a pair now? However, the sinking feeling of a feral's intuition was plaguing her thoughts. Jesse was always a steady rock while Lexa was like a rushing river. Jesse's life was always shaken up by Lexa and Shalimar didn't think that was what Jesse needed right now, or then, when Lexa appeared out of nowhere like a Cheshire cat - making waves when all three of them needed a calm lake. It was over now, but it was that entrance that highlighted what made Shalimar so uneasy about Lexa and Jesse's new relationship. 

A part of her was glad, like she told Jesse, that they were figuring out their relationship. Shalimar could sense it throughout their year together that a tingling attraction was growing between them, and their personalities fit like a key and lock. Where Jesse was strong at, Lexa was weak, what Lexa was undefeatable at, Jesse would be there to learn how to be undefeatable. And in that way, they were perfect for each other. But a looming thought in her mind kept echoing: what if Lexa breaks his heart? No doubt Lexa has done it before - the entire Randall Blake fiasco proved to hurt Jesse real bad, and he didn't talk to Lexa for a few days until Lexa apologized - which wasn't easy.

Shalimar and Jesse were on the computers, chatting about what to do for dinner since they hadn't had dinner together in a while when Lexa came from her bedroom. Jesse had caught her with his eyes and Lexa knew she had to say something, Shalimar guessed. Shalimar excused herself but kept nearby incase she had to kick a little brunette ass. Jesse turned back to the computer, until Lexa had given up waiting for him to start the conversation.

"Are you going to make me apologize for breaking our date?" Lexa had asked.

Jesse didn't answer, which was a blunt yes in Jesse language. Lexa was quiet for a while, Shalimar had known apologizing wasn't really Lexa's way of doing things; but Jesse was special.

"I'm sorry, Jess," she finally said with a sigh. "But, hey, we live together - I'm open for drinks any time, okay?" she hinted with a smile.

That seemed to shake Jesse out of his grudge and he smiled a little. "Okay, I forgive you."

Lexa smirked and raised her eyebrows. "Well?"

"Well-what?" Jesse had asked.

"Come on, ask me for a drink again," Lexa motioned to herself as if he was crazy for not picking it up.

Jesse was quiet and then he sighed. "Okay, Lexa, want to go for a drink?"

"Well, I don't know …" Lexa trailed off, teasing him rather well until she grinned, took a step away from the computers, and motioned to the Helix. "Come on, god, do I have to do everything? You're going to make me fly there, aren't you? Where is the chivalry?"

Jesse didn't miss a beat. "I don't think an Ice Queen like you responds to chivalry … _Frosty_."

Snapping back to the reality, the memory made her laugh. Like Jesse's last remark before they took off, Shalimar was convinced that Jesse could take care of himself. But it wouldn't hurt for Shalimar to kick Lexa's butt if she did break his heart.

* * *

Thanks for all the reviews, sorry it's taken so long to update. But I'mgetting stuck for ideas. Enjoy! 


	6. Ch 6

Time was running out. It had been two whole hours since Lexa had contacted the Dominion, and there was still no word. Jessie Quick was getting restless and paranoid, acting as if Zoom could pop into Sanctuary any moment. Jesse was reviewing Lexa's medical files while Lexa hovered in her office for the Contact. Lexa was growing impatient as a new thought rang in her mind, maybe it wasn't Zoom that was taking so long, maybe the old man couldn't find anything for Lexa's problem.

The entire business about her expiry date was a Catch-22 for Lexa. Nearly two months ago, Lexa argued with Jesse that mutants were a mistake - they were to die out and let mankind evolve on its own. Rather immaturely, Jesse called her a "self-loathing mutant," though a different argument entirely, it was almost true. Why _should_ she enjoy being a new mutant? Sure, the powers were unbelievably useful, but it was because of those abilities that Lexa and Leo were abandoned by their parents, that Lexa was picked up by the Dominion and the GSA, and the only reason that Leo was sick.

These abilities weren't gifts, Lexa realized, they were a curse. And with these thoughts in mind, Lexa wasn't sure if she wanted Jesse to cure her. So she could live a longer life, helping about Darwin's Law of "survival of the fittest"? Not this girl. However, Lexa felt really depressed about leaving the world so early in her life. Lexa was sure, if she tried, she could push out maybe fifty to sixty years of her life before dying. Twenty-seven and already worrying about dying from "natural causes"? It didn't seem _real_.

Lexa wanted to live, and though she traveled the world and taken some _major_ life-threatening risks, she hadn't done a lot of things … especially she didn't want to die _now_. Lexa finally felt like she belonged somewhere. _Search all the time for somewhere to belong, and you find it, only to have it taken away._ _That's me_, Lexa thought bitter sweetly. Also, another reason kept her from just letting her expiry date take its course, and there was no doubt who _that_ special person was. Nearly a year of ignoring his blatant advances was killing her on the inside, but finally, she felt as if they could finally be together. Lexa wasn't a stranger to heartache, and it felt a whole lot better knowing her heart was reinforced by steel walls, or as Jesse put it: Ice. Lexa knew, or finally stopped ignoring the fact, that Jesse would never hurt her, and would never stop caring about her. Lexa almost laughed out loud, why did every train of thought lead to Jesse?

"Lexa," a raspy voice called her, the old man looked at her from the screen. She didn't look any different to him, however, the man could see the light and excitement for life fading away in Lexa's eyes.

Lexa turned to the computer screen, waking up from her thoughts. "It's about time. What have you got?"

"On Zoom, I have psychiatric evaluations and med files especially, and some information regarding what he was working on recently."

"And on the other matter?" Lexa asked, trying to mask the desperation in her voice.

"I'm sorry, Lexa, not yet. I'm working on it. Here's the dossier on Zoom." Lexa confirmed the download, and the file was being uploaded into Sanctuary's system.

"If I make it through this, will you tell me your name?" Lexa teased with a smirk, but he could see the vulnerability in her eyes.

"If you make it through this," he began. "My name isn't what you should be caring about." The line ended with Lexa smiling.

* * *

Lexa sat at her desk, sorting through all the information on Zoom when Brennan walked in and sat down across from Lexa. The awkward tension between them was like electric bolts. Lexa hated awkward silences, too, and it was _very_ awkward.

"Listen, Lexa," Brennan finally began. "I really am glad that Jesse is curing you, you're a great asset to the team and you can do some good here …"

"_Can _do some good?" Lexa repeated. Where had he been in the past six months? Other than running misguided missions for the Dominion, Lexa gave up everything for Mutant X. Especially for Brennan, who necessitated the choice she had to make to kill Leo. Brennan was silent to Lexa's question. "Listen, Brennan," she snapped. "I really thought we got off on the wrong foot before, but maybe I was wrong. I gave up everything for Mutant X," she breathed, "I turned against the Dominion, trusting Adam's word even though we had some trust issues. I stayed with Mutant X after my brother died." Lexa couldn't believe he was still treating her like the enemy! "I've worked my ass off for this team, yet you still think that I don't deserve to be here!"

Brennan interrupted her by standing on his feet. "You don't think I know that? Damn, you killed your brother to save my skin. I get it, alright? And I know you don't think I trust you, but I _do_." Lexa was taken aback at his speech, and Brennan saw her reaction and he lowered his voice. "I might not like you as much as the others do," he recovered. "But if any of us deserve to dodge this bullet, it's you, okay?"

Lexa exhaled. "Okay."

"I was just mad that Jesse thought if he'd told us we'd stop him from saving your life," Brennan sighed, "and you're not so innocent of _that_, either."

"Okay, I'm sorry," Lexa shrugged. "We didn't know how you'd react."

Brennan exhaled and put his hands in his pockets. "God, you never let anyone say anything _nice_ to you," he sighed, "and I forgive you."

* * *

Even if she was temporarily powerless, Shalimar couldn't help but notice Jessie Quick's speed as she anxiously paced the Sanctuary and it was getting rather annoying.

"God, will you stop?" Shalimar snapped. "I'm about to lose my mind with you pacing like that," however, Jessie's actions reminded Shalimar of her own behavior only an hour ago.

"Well if Zoom finds us, you might lose some other parts as well. Your sanity is the least of our problems, Shalimar," Jessie snapped.

"Hey!" Shalimar exclaimed. "We get it, someone's trying to kill us. And we understand that the man's out of his mind, but biting our heads off while we are _trying_ to help you isn't going to make this situation any better. Okay?"

Jessie lifted her hands in surrender. "Okay." She walked to the couches and sat down. Shalimar sighed and swept some renegade silk hair from her face and absentmindedly hit a few keys on the keyboard.

Lexa and Brennan walked in from Lexa's office and Shalimar turned around. "Get anything?"

"Probably a whole lot of worthless bull," Brennan shrugged.

"Actually," Lexa snapped at Brennan. "There is something useful," Lexa established a link with Jesse. "Hey, Jess, are you in the lab?"

"Yeah," Jesse replied over comm link. "I have a really bad muscle cramp in my neck, though. What's up?"

"We got the information on Zoom," Lexa began.

"I'll be there in a sec," Jesse answered and the connection ended.

"Most of it's … like Brennan so eloquently put it, worthless bull, but there are some hints as to what exactly Zoom plans on doing with Jessie," Lexa explained, "if he ever gets her." She sat on the computer stool and opened the dossier.

Jessie walked up and shrugged. "The op said that he planned on putting me in a time-loop chamber like Uncle Barry's."

"Yes," Lexa began. "But we want to know how far he was in this project, if he's not finished with it, we have some time. Also, he'll need some way to pass his memories to you, right? Maybe there's some information on that."

"Especially if the Dominion supports personal vendettas," Shalimar replied.

"Trust me," Lexa began. "They don't, only if it benefits _them_ in some way. And from what I've heard, losing one of their top recon operatives is _not_ benefiting them."

"Awe, that Dominion, always complimenting a girl," Jessie said with a mock wistful sigh, recovering quickly to make sure they knew she was kidding.

Lexa chuckled and rolled her eyes as Jesse walked up. "Jess, why don't you look in here for any information on Zoom's recent work at the Dominion?" she suggested.

Jesse nodded, and Lexa got out of "his" seat and Jesse sat down. Flipping through the information at record speed, his blue eyes darting from the topics and subjects of all reports, and then he stopped. "Bingo," Jesse motioned to the screen. "Progress reports. However, there is a little side-note from your Contact that Zoom might have been keeping his actual progress from them."

"But it's all we got, right?" Shalimar asked.

Jesse nodded and he looked back at the screen and read the highlights. "It says here that he was working on the space/time continuum, of course … not a lot to go on here, just research projects."

"How's that going to help us? He wanted a replica," Jessie explained.

Jesse jumped. "Hey! Here's something, an invention project he was working on … called, hey, Project Time. Working on the, look .. Replica of a time-loop chamber."

"How far did he get into it?" Lexa asked.

Jesse looked on and then his brow creased. "Well, it says here that the Dominion canceled Project Time because they had already had a time chamber but it was destroyed when they released Zoom."

"So? If they destroyed it, wouldn't they want a new one?" Jessie asked.

"Well, hopefully they made the connection between time-loop chamber and his feud with Jessie's family and ended the Project before he finished it," Lexa suggested.

"We know that's not true, Jessie wouldn't be in any danger if the chamber wasn't completed," Brennan realized.

"The Dominion isn't sure they ended it, a guy like Zoom isn't going to stop because the big, bad bosses told him to," Lexa explained. "My Contact said that he could've been hiding his real progress, right?"

"So? Nothing is going to be in there, then," Jessie sighed, annoyed. "Zoom lied to the Dominion and used his research and their equipment to finish his job, we're looking at incorrect data, here, Jess."

"Well, what do you suggest we do, then, huh?" Shalimar asked.

Jesse clapped his hands. "I can loop through some ISP's, making our IP address untraceable and get Zoom's computer logs straight from the Dominion? A guy like Zoom concentrating the time continuum can't do some physics and make a working machine without using his computer, right?"

Lexa wasn't impressed with his idea. "Wait, you don't think my Contact would've done that already?"

Jesse smirked. "Yeah, well, your contact's not me."

Shalimar looked to the young girl. "What do you say, Quick?"

Jessie was silent and then she smirked. "Finally you're at least doing _something_," she said, followed by a series of rolling eyes.

* * *

Bad, Impulse, bad bad Impulse. I've been SO concentrating on J/L that I almost completely forgot about Zoom. So, for the past 2 chapters, I've been trying to catch up. I hope you don't mind the first 4 chapters being almost completely about Jesse and Lexa, do you? Nah, didn't think so. Also! Unlike my other fiction stories, This Is War will have a sequel, that's already in the works. So, look for it when I'm done with this one! Impulse. :-D 


End file.
